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Abstract:

A badge may be assigned to a person, where the badge represents a
characteristic or recurrent behavior of the person. A query may be
associated with a badge, and the query may be continually used in a
search request in combination with the person's context, thereby allowing
the person to be continually provided with fresh results that may be
relevant to the person's durable characteristics and current context. In
one example, the person carries a handheld device, and the results are
presented to the user on the user's desktop or lock screen. The act of
providing the results may be triggered in various ways, such as movement
of the person who carries the device, or the availability of sufficiently
high-quality results.

Claims:

1. A computer-readable medium having executable instructions to show
search results based on a badge, the executable instructions, when
executed by a device, causing the device to perform acts comprising:
requesting a search based on a query associated with said badge and also
based on a context that exists at a time at which said search is
requested, said badge having been earned by a user of said device based
on behavior of said user, said badge having been assigned to said user
based on having been earned by said user based on behavior other than
acts of requesting searches or entering queries, said search being
requested automatically based on said query associated with said badge,
said request being initiated without intervention from said user;
receiving, from a search provider, results based on said search;
determining that display of said results has been triggered; and
displaying said results on said device, said displaying being triggered
either by movement of said device, availability of a high quality result,
location of friends of said user, or passage of time, said results being
displayed with an indication of said badge.

2. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, said device having a lock
screen that prevents access to functions of said device until said lock
screen is unlocked, said results being displayed with said badge on said
lock screen.

3. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, said device having a lock
screen that prevents access to functions of said device until said lock
screen is unlocked, said device having a desktop beneath said lock screen
that is viewable after said lock screen is unlocked, said results being
displayed with said badge on said desktop.

4. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, said device being at a
geographic location, said context comprising said geographic location.

5. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, said determining that display
of said results has been triggered comprising: determining that said
device has moved, triggering of display of said results being based on
movement of said device.

6. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, said determining that display
of said results has been triggered comprising: determining that results
received in response to said search request are of a high quality,
triggering of display of said results being based on quality of said
results.

7. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, said badge being assigned to
said users other than said user, said results being based on choices of
said users, said users being associated with said badge.

8. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, said acts further comprising:
receiving, from said user, a request to customize said search request
associated with said badge by modifying said query.

9. A method of showing search results based on a badge, the method
comprising: using a processor to perform acts comprising: receiving a
search request, said search request being based on a query associated
with said badge and also being based on a context that exists at a device
from which said search request is received at a time at which said search
is requested, said badge having been earned by a user of said device
based on behavior of said user, said badge having been assigned to said
user based on having been earned by said user based on behavior other
than acts of requesting searches or entering queries, said badge not
being usable by said user to save a search without having been earned by
said user, said search having been requested automatically based on said
query associated with said badge, said request being initiated without
intervention from said user; and providing search results based on said
search request to a device that displays said search results with said
badge when said device determines that display of said search results has
been triggered, display of said search results being triggered either by
movement of said device, availability of a high quality result, location
of friends of said user, or passage of time.

10. The method of claim 9, said device having a lock screen that prevents
access to functions of said device until said lock screen is unlocked,
said results being displayed with said badge on said lock screen.

11. The method of claim 9, said device having a lock screen that prevents
access to functions of said device until said lock screen is unlocked,
said device having a desktop beneath said lock screen that is viewable
after said lock screen is unlocked, said results being displayed with
said badge on said desktop.

12. The method of claim 9, said device being at a geographic location,
said context comprising said geographic location.

13. The method of claim 9, said device determining that display of said
results has been triggered by determining that said device has moved,
triggering of display of said results being based on movement of said
device.

14. The method of claim 9, said device determining that display of said
results has been triggered by determining that results received in
response to said search request are of a high quality, triggering of
display of said results being based on quality of said results.

15. The method of claim 9, said badge being assigned to said users other
than said user, said results being based on choices of said users, said
users being associated with said badge.

16. The method of claim 9, said search request being customized by said
user's modifying said query associated with said badge.

17. A device that provides search results based on a badge, the device
comprising: a memory; a processor; a display; a badge that is stored in
said memory and that is earned by a user of said device based on said
user's behavior, said badge having been assigned to said user based on
having been earned by said user based on behavior other than acts of
requesting searches or entering queries; and a search component that is
stored in said memory and that executes on said processor, that makes a
search request based on a query that is associated with said badge and
also based on a context that exists at said device at a time at which
said request is made, that receives results in response to said search
request, that determines whether display of said results have been
triggered, and that displays said results when display of said results
has been triggered, said device making said request automatically based
on said query associated with said badge, said request being initiated
without intervention from said user, said device showing said results
with said badge and either on a desktop of said device or on a lock
screen of said device, display of said results being triggered either by
movement of said device, availability of a high quality result, location
of friends of said user, or passage of time.

18. The device of claim 17, said device being at a geographic location,
said context comprising said geographic location.

19. The device of claim 17, said device determining that display of said
results has been triggered by determining that results received in
response to said search request are of a high quality, triggering of
display of said results being based on quality of said results.

20. The device of claim 17, said badge being assigned to said users other
than said user, said results being based on choices of said users, said
users being associated with said badge.

Description:

[0002] Many searches are based on context. A person who searches for
"restaurant" might want to know about restaurants generally, but more
likely the person is looking for a nearby restaurant. In this example,
the context associated with the search is the location in which the
search is being performed. While a person can perform any type of
contextual search, people tend to search recurrently for the same things,
in predictable patterns. For example, a person who likes Chinese
restaurants is likely to search for Chinese restaurants frequently. If
the person is registered with an online service and has given appropriate
permission for his searches and other behaviors to be mined, then the
service might deduce the person's affinity for Chinese restaurants and
might assign a virtual "Chinese restaurant" badge to that person as a way
of designating the person's affinity.

[0003] A badge (or another type of expression of a person's affinities and
interests) can be used in various ways--e.g., as a method of promoting
social cohesion among like-minded people in an online setting. However,
there are other ways in which a badge can be used.

SUMMARY

[0004] A badge can be used as a basis to perform a persistent search that
is based on the user's location or other context. The user can be shown
results that change as the user's context changes. Moreover, the results
can be shown to the user without the user's having to request the search
explicitly, since the search request may be inferred from the fact that
the badge has been assigned to the user.

[0005] Initially, the user earns a badge. For example, a user who
frequently eats at tapas restaurants or bars might earn a "tapas" badge,
thereby designating the user as someone who is interested in tapas.
Similarly, badges such as "golf enthusiast", "wine lover", "Ivy League
alum", "world traveler", could be assigned based on the user's behavior,
or based on a user's express selection of a badge. (To the extent that
badge assignments would be deduced from the user's behavior, appropriate
permission to mine this behavior may be obtained from the user in order
to preserve the user's interest in privacy.) A query may be associated
with a badge. Contextual information (e.g., the user's location) may be
added to the query, and the contextual information may be updated as the
context changes. The query may be executed recurrently, and the results
may be shown to the user in response to an appropriate trigger. The
execution of the query, and the showing of the results to the user, may
take place without any explicit or direct request by the user. In this
way, results that update automatically, and continually, may be provided
to the user as part of the experience that the user's device provides.
Users may be able to edit the query associated with a badge, and may
affect the search experience in various other ways.

[0006] Search results may be shown to a user in various ways--e.g., on the
desktop, on the lock screen, etc. Moreover, search results may be shown
in response to various triggers, such as when the user moves from one
location to another, or when sufficiently high-quality results are
available.

[0007] This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a
simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed
Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or
essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to
be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a first example of a badge-based
search experience, as that experience might look on an example device.

[0009] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a second example of a badge-based
search experience on the device of FIG. 1.

[0010] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example badge-based search
experience that changes based on context.

[0011] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an interface that allows the search
experience associated with a badge to be customized.

[0012] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of an example process in which a
badge-based search experience may be provided.

[0013] FIG. 6 is a block diagram of example components that may be used in
connection with implementations of the subject matter described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0014] As people make increasing use of mobile devices to access
information, people often expect their mobile devices to anticipate the
information that they want to see. The traditional method of search is
for a person to invoke a search application (e.g., by visiting a search
engine's web site) and to enter a search query explicitly. However,
search has evolved to support scenarios other than an explicit search. In
particular, a search can be viewed as a way of describing what
information is sought, given that the underlying information, and the
context in which the information is being requested, is constantly
changing.

[0015] Local searches typify the scenario of changing information and
changing context. For example, a user who is looking for a tapas
restaurant might enter the query "tapas". However, the response to this
query may depend on both the user's current circumstances (e.g., his or
her location), and the current state of a business directory that lists
existing businesses. The response depends on the user's current
circumstances because, in one example, the query is interpreted as
implicitly requesting tapas restaurants that the user can reasonably get
to in the near future (e.g., restaurants that are near the user's current
location). The response also depends on the current state of the
directory because new restaurants open and old ones close, so the set of
responses that are appropriate--given a particular location for the
user--can change throughout time.

[0016] In theory, anyone can perform any search, contextual or otherwise.
However, in reality, people often perform certain types of searches based
on predictable patterns--e.g., based on their interests, their
lifestyles, and other factors. For example, if a person is an established
tapas enthusiast, he or she may want to search for tapas bars
recurrently, so that he or she can see the location of the nearest tapas
restaurant and reviews of those restaurants. If a person likes wine, or
art museums, or laser tag, then he or she may frequently do searches
related to those concepts. It is convenient, therefore, to think of such
searches not so much as discrete events, but rather as requests to
provide continually-updating information that can change as a user's
location (or other context) changes.

[0017] Some systems implement the notion of a badge, which is a concept
that can be associated with a user who has exhibited certain behaviors. A
user who has frequently searched for, or eaten in, tapas restaurants may
be assigned the "tapas" badge. A user who frequently plays laser tag may
be assigned the "laser tag" badge. Such badges describe a durable
property of a user, and may suggest a search that is to be performed. It
is noted that the acts that causes the user to earn the badge are often
behaviors that are unrelated to the act of requesting a search or
entering a query. For example, the acts of riding the same bus to work
each day, or playing golf five times per year, or visiting one's sister
each Saturday at 2 pm, are behaviors that are not associated with
searches. The act of engaging in such behaviors is not normally
associated with the act of requesting a search, and engaging in these
behaviors does not directly cause a search to be performed.

[0018] The subject matter described herein uses badges, or similar types
of information about a user, to perform a search. The search may be
continually updated, and may be based on the user's present physical
location or other contextual information about the user. A triggering
event may cause the result to be displayed on a device associated with
the user, such as a smart phone or other mobile device. As the user
changes context (e.g., by moving from one place to another), the result
that is displayed may be updated. For example, the "tapas" badge may be
associated with the query "tapas restaurant", with the implied geographic
term "here." Thus, a user's having the tapas badge causes the query
"tapas restaurant here" to be continually searched, and updated
information based on this query may be shown. If the user is in Seattle,
one set of results may be produced; if the user is in San Francisco,
another set of results may be produced. While the user could explicitly
execute this query in different places, because the user has been
identified as a tapas enthusiast (via the assignment of the "tapas" badge
to the user), software on the user's device may continually execute this
query and may provide results to the user, without the user's explicitly
or directly having to initiate the search process or indicate a change in
location.

[0019] The result of a badge-driven search may be displayed to the user in
various ways. In one example, the result may be displayed on the "lock"
screen of the user's device, before the user has unlocked the device. In
another example, the result may be displayed on the home screen of the
device after the user unlocks the device.

[0020] The query to be associated with the badge may be customized by the
user. For example, the user may edit the text query associated with a
badge, or may specify various filters (e.g., the results may be filtered
so that only tapas restaurants with a rating of four stars or higher are
shown).

[0021] In one example, the query results that are shown to a person with a
particular badge may be influenced by the opinions of others with the
same badge. For example, people might be given the opportunity to
indicate a particular restaurant or other entity (with the indication
being "recommend", "like", or some similar sentiment). If many people
with the tapas badge like or recommend a particular tapas restaurant,
then a person with the tapas badge might receive results that are biased
in favor of that restaurant (e.g., by listing that restaurant higher on
the search results).

[0022] It is noted that the notion of automatically executing a query
associated with a badge is not the same as using a badge, or some passive
information, to influence a search result. For example, if a user has the
"vintage clothing" badge and enters the query "clothing," the badge might
be used to influence the results of the "clothing" query in favor of
vintage clothing. However, doing so is not the same as (nor is it an
obvious variant of) associating a query with the badge and automatically
executing the query. In one case, the user query is influenced by factors
associated with the badge. In the other case, the badge itself is the
source of the query that is actually executed. Moreover, it is noted that
executing a query associated with a badge that has been earned through a
behavior is not the same as (nor is it an obvious variant of) executing a
saved query. While a saved query may have the same durable quality that
some badges have, a saved query is merely a query that the user entered.
A badge, on the other hand, might be earned through some behavior other
than explicitly specifying a search to be performed. (It is noted that a
badge that was earned through behavior continues to be distinct from a
saved search, even if the user explicitly modifies the query associated
with the badge. This is so because the badge itself, in one example, has
to be earned through behavior, even if the user can later change the
query associated with the badge that was earned through behavior. In this
non-limiting example, a user cannot use a badge to save a search unless
the user has earned the badge.)

[0023] Turning now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows an example badge-based
search experience, as that experience might look on an example device.
Device 100 may be a mobile telephone, a portable music player, a tablet
computer, or any other type of device. Device 100 typically has some
memory and some processing capability which are implemented, for example,
using components that are shown in FIG. 6 and described below. Device 100
may have various controls, such as escape button 102 (which may have
various functions, such as exiting an application and/or returning the
view on device 100 to the home screen), and touch screen 104 (which
serves as both an input device and an output/display device). In the
experience shown in FIG. 1, various pieces of information may be
displayed on touch screen 104. One such piece of information is search
box 106, which allows a user to enter a query.

[0024] The experience may also show various badges 108, 110, and 112 that
are associated with the user of device 100. In one example, the device
knows which badges to display because the user is logged in to some
online service, and the badges are associated with the user's account. In
another example, the device is registered to a particular user, and the
badges for the registered user are displayed. One of the example badges
(badge 112) is shown larger than the others, thereby allowing the badge
to indicate a search result. The reason for which badge 112 shows a
search result might be that the user has clicked or tapped (or otherwise
activated) the badge, thereby indicating that the user wants to see a
current search result from the query associated with that badge. In
another example, a passive trigger has caused the badge to display search
results to the user. (Some example triggers are discussed below in
connection with FIG. 5.) In the example shown, the search results 114 in
the badge contain the name of a tapas restaurant. Since badge 112 is the
"tapas lover" badge, the query associated with the badge might be "tapas"
or "tapas restaurant", together with a geographic term that corresponds
to the current location of the device. (Such a current location might be
determined from GPS component on the device; location information from
such a GPS might be used pursuant to appropriate permission obtained from
the device's user.) Thus, the restaurant shown in search results 114 may
be the name of a nearby tapas restaurant. It is noted that, in the
example of FIG. 1, search results 114 show not only the name of the
restaurant, but also a rating 116 for the restaurant, and information 118
indicating how far away the restaurant is. The rating and distance
information are merely examples; any type of information about a search
result could be shown.

[0025] FIG. 2 shows another view of device 100, presenting a different
type of badge-based search experience. In FIG. 2, device 100 is shown as
having touch screen 104, discussed above in connection with FIG. 1.
However, in FIG. 2, the information shown on touch screen 104 is the
"lock" screen--i.e., the screen that prevents the user from performing
unintended actions with the device while the user is not actively using
the device. In general, lock screen allows the user to perform only a
limited set of actions until the lock screen is unlocked--e.g., the lock
screen might display the time and/or the network, might allow the user to
"swipe to unlock", or might allow the user to answer an incoming phone
call. However, in general active use of the device (e.g., using apps,
performing explicit searches, etc.) involves the user's first unlocking
the device.

[0026] In the example experience of FIG. 2, badge 112, and its associated
search results 114, are shown on the lock screen. In this way, the user
can see search results associated with his or her badges without having
to unlock the device. FIG. 1, discussed above, is an example of showing
badge-based search results after, or beneath, the lock screen; FIG. 2 is
an example of showing badge-based search results on, or above, the lock
screen.

[0027] FIG. 3 shows an example badge-based search experience that changes
based on context. FIG. 3 shows two views of device 100. As in FIG. 1,
device 100 shows the beneath-the-lock-screen experience, including badge
112 associated with the user of the device. Moreover, the screen shows
the search results associated with that badge. However, the two views of
device 100 show how the experience changes based on the user's context.
In this example, the context is composed of the user's physical location,
although there could be other types of context that could influence a
search--e.g., the time of day, the time of year, whether the user is at
work or at home, etc.

[0028] Thus, in one view of device 100, the device (and the user carrying
the device) are in Seattle. Therefore, search results 114 include a tapas
restaurant in the Seattle area. In a second view of device 100, the
device and its user are in San Francisco. Therefore, in the second view
of device 100, the results include tapas restaurants that are located in
San Francisco. As noted above, these searches may have been performed
passively, based on the fact that the user has the "tapas lover" badge.
Thus, the act of showing the user information that might be relevant to a
"tapas lover" who is in the user's current location, without the user's
having to make a direct request for the information, is part of the
experience that is depicted in FIG. 3.

[0029] As noted above, the search experience associated with a badge may
be customized by the user. FIG. 4 shows an example of how to customize
the search associated with a badge.

[0030] The interface of FIG. 4 is shown in two separate screens on device
100; the user may be able to flip back and forth between the two screens.
The interface comprises a box 402 that shows the text query associated
with a badge. Additionally, the interface comprises various ways to
narrow and/or filter the search performed on that text query. Thus the
interface includes a menu 404 that allows the user to specify geographic
limits on the search (e.g., within five miles of the present location); a
category 406 of results to search for (e.g., "restaurants/bars");
constraints on the price and/or rating to be associated with a result (at
408 and 410); and other information 412 such as whether the entity listed
in the search results is "good for kids" and/or has "outdoor seating."
Thus, in the example shown, the search associated with a particular
user's instance of the "tapas lover" badge uses the text query "tapas",
the geographic constraint of being within "5 miles" (of the user's
current location), the category constraint of "restaurants/bars", the
price constraint of restaurants in the "three dollar sign" category, and
the rating constraint that the restaurant be rated at least four stars.
Additionally, the search imposes the criteria that the entity listed in
the results be "good for kids" and have "outdoor seating." These
parameters are configurable and customizable by the user. For example, a
user could change the text in box 402 in order to change the underlying
text query, or could change the geographic constraint, or could change
any of the other aspects of the query.

[0031] In addition to allowing the user to customize the specific way in
which the search is done, the customization interface may also allow the
user to identify "top picks" 414, and other users 416 with whom the badge
(or, rather, the user's customized version of the badge) is shared.
Identifying the user's choices of "top picks" may allow the search
results to be skewed or biased toward the items on the "top picks" list
if those items are appropriate to the search query. For example, if the
user has specified a five-mile geographic limit on the search and has
specified the Harvest Vine restaurant as a top pick, then the search
results may include Harvest Vine if the user happens to be within five
miles of that restaurant. By specifying Harvest Vine as a top pick,
Harvest Vine may be included in the search results even if the search
algorithm otherwise would have omitted it, or Harvest Vine may appear at
the top of the results even if the search algorithm otherwise would have
placed it somewhere else in the results. Another consequence of
specifying top picks is that the top picks of the various users who have
the "tapas lover" badge may be collected, and these results may be used
(anonymously) to influence the search results that other "tapas lovers"
receive in their badge-based search experience. For example, if many
holders of the "tapas lover" badge have indicated that Harvest Vine is a
top pick, then the search results given to holders of that badge may be
biased in favor of Harvest Vine--even for badge-holders who have not
actually indicated Harvest Vine as a top pick. (It is noted that the user
can add top picks, and also can delete top picks--as indicated by the
deletion "X" shown in the interface.)

[0032] Another action that a user may perform on the customization
interface is to specify users with whom the badge holder has decided to
share the badge. A user may share a badge with other users, so that the
other users also receive the search experience associated with that
badge. The sharing of the badge may be controlled through the
customization interface shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 4 shows two users with whom
the badge has been shared; the badge can be shared with additional users
by adding those users, or the badge can be "unshared" with users by
deleting those users from the list (as indicated by the deletion "X"
shown in the interface.)

[0033] FIG. 5 shows an example process in which a badge-based search
experience may be provided. Before turning to a description of FIG. 5, it
is noted that the flow diagram in FIG. 5 is described, by way of example,
with reference to components shown in FIGS. 1-4, although this process
may be carried out in any system and is not limited to the scenarios
shown in FIGS. 1-4. Additionally, the flow diagram in FIG. 5 shows an
example in which stages of a process are carried out in a particular
order, as indicated by the lines connecting the blocks, but the various
stages shown in this diagram can be performed in any order, or in any
combination or sub-combination.

[0034] At 502, a user earns a badge. The user may earn the badge by any
appropriate process and/or set of actions. For example, a user might earn
the "tapas lover" badge mentioned above by eating at some number of tapas
restaurants. (This fact might be determined, for example, if the user's
payment method is connected to the account that he or she uses on his or
her phone. In this case, paying a bill at a tapas restaurant may be taken
as an indication that the user has eaten at that restaurants, and eating
at some number of restaurants within a given amount of time might earn
the "tapas lover" badge. The user's payment information may be obtained
pursuant to appropriate permission obtained from the user, in order to
protect the user's expectation of privacy.) In another example, a user
might earn a "wine enthusiast" badge by purchasing a certain amount of
wine, or a "golf" badge by spending a certain amount of time on the golf
course (as determined from the user's location, after the user gives
appropriate permission to use his or her location) or by paying for a
certain number of greens fees. Badges can be earned in any appropriate
manner.

[0035] At 504, a query is associated with the badge. For example, the text
query "tapas" may be associated with the "tapas lover" badge.
Additionally, other information that is used to select search
results--e.g., a geographic limitation, a limitation to
"restaurants/bars", a particular rating, etc. --may be considered part of
the query that is associated with the badge. Typically, the query that is
associated with the badge is one that is assigned without user input. For
example, the "tapas" query may be associated with the "tapas lover" badge
automatically upon the user's earning the badge, without the user having
to enter the query, or having to indicate in any way that the word
"tapas" is the query that the user wants to associate with the badge. In
one example, the user may later change the query associated with the
badge, but the initial query typically is not one that the user has
chosen, nor one as to which the user has any particular input or
influence.

[0036] At 506, display of the search results is triggered. There are
various ways in which the display of the search results might be
triggered. In one example, current search results are continually
displayed, in which case the trigger to display the results perpetually
exists. In other example, triggers 508 might include movement of the
user's device (at 510), availability of a sufficiently high quality
result (at 512), location of friends (at 514), or the passage of time (at
516). The search results themselves may be obtained by issuing a search
request, based on the query and also based on the context that exists at
the device. The search request may be issued to a search provider, such
as a server that runs search engine software.

[0037] In the case of movement (at 510), the fact that the user's device
has moved from one city to another might be a trigger to display search
results, since the results might change based on the user's location.

[0038] In the case of availability of a sufficiently high quality result
(at 512), it might be the case that the quality of results changes as the
user moves, and that some results are worth displaying and others are
not. For example, if the user is in Seattle, there are likely to be
highly relevant results to the query "tapas" within five miles. If the
user starts driving south, there may be places where there are no results
that satisfy the constraints of the query, or results that are not deemed
of sufficient relevance to be worth displaying. Thus, the results
associated with a badge might be displayed only when there are results
that have scored sufficiently high in relevance; when only low-relevance
results are available, the badge, and its associated results, might not
be displayed at all.

[0039] In the case of the "location of friends" trigger (at 514), the
display of results might be triggered by the fact that the user has
friends who share the same badge and are nearby. In the example of the
"tapas lover" badge, the user might be particularly interested in nearby
tapas restaurants if he has friends nearby who would be willing to go to
the restaurant with him. If such friends are in close proximity to each
other, this fact might trigger the display of the "tapas lover" badge,
and the associated search results, on the friends' respective devices.
Thus, if users choose to share their locations, information about users
being near each other could be used to determine when to display the
results associated with a badge.

[0040] In the case of the passage of time (at 516), some systems might be
configured to display the current results associated with a badge
periodically at particular time intervals.

[0041] The foregoing are some examples of triggers, although other
triggers could be used to determine when to display the search results
associated with a badge.

[0042] After some amount of time, a customization request may be received
(at 518). When such a customization request is received, the
customization interface shown in FIG. 4 may be displayed, thereby
allowing a user to affect the search criteria associated with a badge, as
well as other information such as whom the badge is shared with and the
user's "top picks" associated with the badge. The user may then enter
customized information, and the search criteria (or other information)
associated with a badge may be modified accordingly (at 520). Examples of
the search criteria that that may be modified in response to a
customization request include the query 522 (including both the text of
the query, as well as any other criteria that are used to filter results,
such as geographic constraints), the user's "top picks" 524, and the list
of shared users 526.

[0043] After the search criteria are modified, the process may return to
506 to update the search results. It is noted that the act of
"displaying" the search results, as described above in connection with
block 506, includes not only the initial act of showing the search
results on the screen, but may also include the act of updating the
display to reflect new search results, or different search results based
on a change in context or a change in the query associated with a badge.
Additionally, it is noted that a user's modification of the search
criteria is not the only reason that updated search results would be
displayed. Search results could be updated based on any of the triggers
508 that were previously described, or based on any other triggers. Thus,
while FIG. 5 shows search results being displayed, followed by a
modification to the search criteria, followed by an updated to the search
results, it may be the case that the process loops from 506 back to 506
without any intervening modification or customization of the search
criteria, thereby allowing the search results to be updated recurrently.

[0044] FIG. 6 shows an example environment in which aspects of the subject
matter described herein may be deployed.

[0045] Computer 600 includes one or more processors 602 and one or more
data remembrance components 604. Processor(s) 602 are typically
microprocessors, such as those found in a personal desktop or laptop
computer, a server, a handheld computer, or another kind of computing
device. Data remembrance component(s) 604 are components that are capable
of storing data for either the short or long term. Examples of data
remembrance component(s) 604 include hard disks, removable disks
(including optical and magnetic disks), volatile and non-volatile
random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), flash memory,
magnetic tape, etc. Data remembrance component(s) are examples of
computer-readable storage media. Computer 600 may comprise, or be
associated with, display 612, which may be a cathode ray tube (CRT)
monitor, a liquid crystal display (LCD) monitor, or any other type of
monitor.

[0046] Software may be stored in the data remembrance component(s) 604,
and may execute on the one or more processor(s) 602. An example of such
software is badge-based search software 606, which may implement some or
all of the functionality described above in connection with FIGS. 1-5,
although any type of software could be used. Software 606 may be
implemented, for example, through one or more components, which may be
components in a distributed system, separate files, separate functions,
separate objects, separate lines of code, etc. A computer (e.g., personal
computer, server computer, handheld computer, etc.) in which a program is
stored on hard disk, loaded into RAM, and executed on the computer's
processor(s) typifies the scenario depicted in FIG. 6, although the
subject matter described herein is not limited to this example.

[0047] The subject matter described herein can be implemented as software
that is stored in one or more of the data remembrance component(s) 604
and that executes on one or more of the processor(s) 602. As another
example, the subject matter can be implemented as instructions that are
stored on one or more computer-readable media. Such instructions, when
executed by a computer or other machine, may cause the computer or other
machine to perform one or more acts of a method. The instructions to
perform the acts could be stored on one medium, or could be spread out
across plural media, so that the instructions might appear collectively
on the one or more computer-readable media, regardless of whether all of
the instructions happen to be on the same medium. The term
"computer-readable media" does not include signals per se; nor does it
include information that exists solely as a propagating signal. It will
be understood that, if the claims herein refer to media that carry
information solely in the form of a propagating signal, and not in any
type of durable storage, such claims will use the terms "transitory" or
"ephemeral" (e.g., "transitory computer-readable media", or "ephemeral
computer-readable media"). Any claim that does not explicitly describe
the media as "transitory" or "ephemeral" shall not be understood to
describe information that exists solely as a propagating signal or solely
as a signal per se. Additionally, it is noted that "hardware media" or
"tangible media" include devices such as RAMs, ROMs, flash memories, and
disks that exist in physical, tangible form; such "hardware media" or
"tangible media" are not signals per se. Moreover, "storage media" are
media that store information. The term "storage" is used to denote the
durable retention of data. For the purpose of the subject matter herein,
information that exists only in the form of propagating signals is not
considered to be "durably" retained. Therefore, "storage media" include
disks, RAMs, ROMs, etc., but does not include information that exists
only in the form of a propagating signal because such information is not
"stored."

[0048] Additionally, any acts described herein (whether or not shown in a
diagram) may be performed by a processor (e.g., one or more of processors
602) as part of a method. Thus, if the acts A, B, and C are described
herein, then a method may be performed that comprises the acts of A, B,
and C. Moreover, if the acts of A, B, and C are described herein, then a
method may be performed that comprises using a processor to perform the
acts of A, B, and C.

[0049] In one example environment, computer 600 may be communicatively
connected to one or more other devices through network 608. Computer 610,
which may be similar in structure to computer 600, is an example of a
device that can be connected to computer 600, although other types of
devices may also be so connected.

[0050] It is noted that the term "behavior" is used herein, and is
explained by the foregoing description. However, if an occasion arises in
which it is relevant to distinguish between saved searches and badges
earned through behaviors, the term "non-search behavior" will be
understood to indicate acts other than entering search queries, and the
term "non-search behavior" will exclude acts that are, or that comprise,
entering search queries. Moreover, the concept of a "badge earned through
non-search behavior", or a concept designated by similar phrasing, will
be understood to include badges earned by a user's performing some
"non-search behavior," within the meaning of that term as explained
above. However, a badge can be associated with a query, and it will be
understood that "badge earned through non-search behavior" includes
badges that are associated with queries, including those badges whose
associated queries have been modified by the user as long as the badge
was once earned by a user through non-search behavior.

[0051] Although the subject matter has been described in language specific
to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood
that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily
limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the
specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms
of implementing the claims.